When is an Austrian vignette valid: today, or in 18 days?
Bought online tonight, is an Austrian vignette valid tomorrow at 5 am?
For the 1-day and 10-day digital vignettes, yes: they are valid immediately, from midnight at the start of the date you choose, so one bought tonight with tomorrow as its start date covers you from 00:00 tomorrow. For the 2-month and annual digital vignettes bought online, no: ASFINAG makes them valid only from the 18th day after purchase. Bought in person at a sales point, a toll booth or a rest-area vending machine, every duration is valid immediately (ASFINAG, checked 14 October 2026).
Valid from, by duration and where you buy it
The table follows ASFINAG's own rule for the digital vignette. Buying online means a consumer buying in the ASFINAG toll shop or the ASFINAG app, or through a service like ours that buys on that shop for you; the 18-day wait applies to all three. Buying in person means a distributor such as an ÖAMTC, ARBÖ or ADAC office, a petrol station or tobacconist that sells it, a toll booth, or a vending machine at a rest area.
| Digital vignette | Bought online | Bought in person | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-day digital | Immediately, on the date you choose | Immediately | One calendar day, midnight to midnight |
| 10-day digital | Immediately, from the date you choose | Immediately | Ten consecutive calendar days, the start date included |
| 2-month digital | From the 18th day after purchase at the earliest | Immediately | Two consecutive months from the start date |
| Annual digital | From the 18th day after purchase at the earliest | Immediately | The vignette year, 1 December of the preceding year to 31 January of the following year |
Leaving tomorrow at 5 am: which one to buy tonight
Say it is 14 October and you set off at 5 am on 15 October. A 1-day vignette with 15 October as its start date covers all of 15 October, and a 10-day vignette starting that day covers 15 to 24 October. Both are fine to buy the evening before.
Do not give a night drive today's date. A 1-day vignette dated 14 October ends at midnight tonight, so a crossing at 5 am would not be covered by it.
A 2-month digital vignette bought online on 14 October can start on 1 November at the earliest, and an annual digital vignette bought online the same day is not valid before then either. For a trip in the next 17 days, buy a 1-day or 10-day vignette online, or buy the longer one in person, where it is valid at once.
Why the 2-month and annual vignettes wait 18 days
Someone who buys a digital vignette online can withdraw from the purchase within 14 days. ASFINAG adds three days for the post to that period, which is how it arrives at validity from the 18th day after an online purchase. The 1-day and 10-day vignettes are exempt, and so is any digital vignette bought in person.
The wait protects consumers, so it does not apply everywhere. ASFINAG's Help Centre says a vignette bought as a business can be used immediately, and so can one bought at a toll station, from an authorised distributor online or on site, or at an ASFINAG vending machine.
We are not an authorised ASFINAG distributor: we buy your vignette in ASFINAG's toll shop as a consumer. The 18 days therefore still apply to a 2-month or annual vignette ordered from us, and checkout offers the 18th day after purchase as its earliest start.
Calendar days, not 24-hour blocks
Validity ends at midnight on the final calendar day, whatever time of day you started driving. A 1-day vignette bought for an evening crossing expires at midnight that same night, not 24 hours later, so a drive that continues past midnight needs the next day covered too.
The annual vignette and the vignette year
The annual vignette is not valid for twelve months from the day you buy it. It is valid for a vignette year, which begins on 1 December of the preceding year and ends on 31 January of the following year: fourteen months of usable validity for anyone who buys it early. The guide to the 2027 vignette explains the year that starts on 1 December.